Having AI review code before delivery — does it work as an acceptance criterion?

You can't retroactively impose a tool as an acceptance criterion if it wasn't defined in the contract beforehand. The agency will rightly push back. You can scan the code with AI, but you should use the findings as technical feedback to compile a friendly revision punch list with the agency, not as an excuse to withhold payment.

Due to context window limits, AI can miss the data flow across the entire project. For example, it might fail to see that an authorization check happens in a different layer and flag a vulnerability where none exists. Conversely, it will completely miss complex business logic flaws. It needs to be used in a hybrid setup alongside traditional static analysis tools and unit tests.

Uploading proprietary company code to public AI services without checking license and NDA terms can create serious IP and confidentiality breaches. What happens to the agency's code ownership and third-party library licenses? Review your data security policy before taking that step.

Last quarter, we ran an AI scan on our 15.000-line microservice project. Out of 42 warnings it raised, 26 were baseless—pure false positives. But out of the remaining 16, 3 were genuinely critical memory leaks and authorization flaws. You absolutely need a human expert to filter through the noise.

if you cant read code you wont be able to interpret what the AI outputs anyway imo but youll claim there are fifty bugs in the report the dev will explain why they arent in two minutes and itll just cause needless friction.

From a legal perspective, the technical specifications and acceptance protocol agreed upon in the contract are binding. A report from a previously unapproved tool cannot serve as grounds for unilateral termination or withholding payment. However, if the concrete vulnerabilities identified fall under the definition of a defect under contract law, you can demand remediation.

When taking delivery, you can use AI through this three-stage filter: 1) Treat suggestions in the report as suspicious findings, not confirmed defects. 2) Send the list to the agency and ask for a written explanation. 3) Budget 2 hours with an independent freelance developer to verify the agency's explanations.

I understand your concern; signing off without technical knowledge can feel daunting. Treat AI not as an auditor, but as a conversation starter. Take the straightforward points from the report, approach the agency politely, and ask if there's a specific reason they architected it that way.

Exactly, and not many people know this. Ask who prepared the quote and who will actually do the work.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm a small business, let me explain from my side. When we decide without measuring, we always end up in the same place.

Of course, it varies if your situation is different.

I think it's hard to be that definitive about AI code analysis. Everyone rushing into AI code analysis gets stuck at the same point.

If I were you, I'd go this route.

This approach has a cost, which isn't discussed. If it's your first time, start small; scaling comes later.

The cheapest quote is usually the least thought-out one. That's all, sorry if I went on too long.

Exactly like that. Processes without records never improve, because you don't know what to fix.

I'm also curious if anyone does it differently.

Great work. Payment schedules should be tied to project phases not calendar dates.

Weekly written progress reports are much more useful than asking for dates. This is my opinion, I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.

I agree with this. In legacy systems, the most expensive thing is unknown dependencies.

let me share what happened to me; it might be useful and anyway hasty decisions become decisions you have to fix six months later.

I agree, and I'd like to emphasize that. Everyone rushing into AI code analysis gets stuck at the same point.

Proven by experience.

My perspective changed after experiencing that. Everyone rushing into AI code analysis gets stuck at the same point.

This is my opinion, I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.